Job Description
We are looking for a results-driven, data-oriented Freelance Fundraising Manager to lead our individual donor program. This is not a grant writing role — we have that covered. Your focus will be entirely on cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding private donations from individual donors, including annual fund donors, mid-level givers, and major gift prospects.
You will own the full donor lifecycle: prospect research → moves management → solicitation → stewardship. You will work closely with our small staff and board to build a sustainable, growing individual giving pipeline.
Key Responsibilities
- Conduct prospect research to identify, qualify, and prioritize individual donor prospects
- Manage and execute a structured moves management pipeline from identification through stewardship
- Develop and implement a segmented annual fund strategy (direct mail, email, phone, personal asks)
- Solicit major gifts (face-to-face and written asks, typically $1,000+)
- Build and manage a mid-level donor program
- Design and execute donor stewardship plans, including acknowledgment letters, impact reports, and personal touchpoints
- Engage and coach board members in fundraising conversations and peer-to-peer asks
- Run regular wealth screening and prospect scoring using research tools
- Track all donor activity, interactions, and pipeline status in our CRM
- Deliver regular reporting on retention rates, pipeline value, average gift size, and ROI by channel
- Support cultivation events and donor engagement opportunities as needed
Required Skills & Experience
CRM Proficiency — must have hands-on experience with at least one:
- Bloomerang
- Raiser's Edge NXT (Blackbaud)
- Salesforce NPSP
- Little Green Light
- DonorPerfect or NeonCRM
Prospect Research & Wealth Screening:
- DonorSearch, WealthEngine, or iWave
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator for prospect identification
Fundraising Expertise:
- Demonstrated experience managing individual giving programs from annual fund through major gifts
- Fluency in LYBUNT/SYBUNT analysis and donor segmentation
- Experience building or improving donor retention rates with measurable results
- Moves management methodology (documented pipeline management)
- Stewardship plan development and execution
- Board volunteer engagement in fundraising
Digital Campaign Tools:
- Email fundraising platforms: Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or Emma
- Online giving platforms: Classy, Givebutter, or Qgiv
- Familiarity with matching gift tools (Double the Donation or similar) a plus
Reporting & Analytics:
- Ability to pull, analyze, and present donor data independently
- Comfortable building solicitation lists from segmented queries
- Experience presenting pipeline metrics and fundraising performance to leadership
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior experience fundraising for arts, heritage, cultural, or history organizations
- Experience working with small nonprofit teams where you owned the individual giving program end-to-end
- Familiarity with planned giving concepts (bequest conversations, legacy society)
- CFRE certification or progress toward certification
What Success Looks Like
Within the first 90 days, we expect you to:
- Audit our existing donor database and segment our current donor file
- Conduct prospect research and deliver a prioritized major gift prospect list
- Present a 12-month individual giving plan with channel strategies and revenue projections
- Launch at least one active solicitation effort with tracked results
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